Distant Day Out - St John's College, Cambridge

In 1209, a bunch of scholars fled the town of Oxford and settled in the small town of Cambridge. The town before then wasn't anything significant - it had been around for 400 years, but largely as a market town, mostly a religious centre near the significant town of Ely and its cathedral. The year the scholars fled, however, is now acknowledged as the founding of Cambridge University, which has since become the main reason people go there.

Cambridge has obviously grown since then - it's become a city, much larger than Ely or any settlement nearby. Thousands live there, and many travel to study there. Not too far from London, but also isolated enough to stand alone. And its reputation alongside Oxford as one of the most prestigious universities won't hurt, either.

The first college to open was Peterhouse, which was founded by the Bishop of Ely in 1284. St John's College, named after the Gospel writer, came many years later in 1511, was founded by Margaret Beaufort with four aims - to promote education, religion, learning and research. The Tompkins Table, which ranks Cambridge colleges, put it in 6th out of 29 in 2022. But the most important aspect of a college is likely what you get out of it. And I quite liked it.

What there was at St John's

I went as part of a school trip to St John's, just to see what studying here would be like. I can't say I've been completely swayed, but it was nevertheless quite an enjoyable trip. The back gate entrance opens to a charming row of daffodils, and the main building is out in the distance. The River Cam, which this city is built on, flows through the college grounds and has two bridges crossing it. One of these, the Bridge of Sighs (named after a similar bridge in Venice), is probably the most wellknown one - surrounded on all sides by stone arches, it's also the most unique one I saw. It enabled the expansion of the college to the west of the Cam - before, all colleges were restricted eastward. Cars have been dangled from it; politicians have loved it; Pink Floyd featured it in a music video. Occasionally, boats swim underneath the arch on the green water on punting tours, and unless you go on such a tour or are affiliated with the college, you won't be able to access it. Luckily, my group could.

The second bridge, the Wren Bridge, appears far less remarkable, but it predates the Bridge of Sighs. It replaced a bridge which stood here before the college started, and is named after the architect Christoper Wren who designed it. Quite nice either way.

Along with this, there was a trip to all the various courts in the college and chapel. The college boasts a choir which has existed for over 350 years, and they hold regular events in the grand-looking chapel. The courts themselves don't have the most unique names - the ones pointed out to us were New, Second and Third Courts - and the same goes with their layout. Accommodation is on all sides, and in the middle are four greens. It turns out that these well-kempt greens are likely so well preserved because almost no one can use them; if one does, they're probably fellows. Fellows consist of various people selected by the college and thus enjoy greater prestige (so they can take shortcuts and co-govern the college). Every college has them, usually professors and lecturers of that college, and they must be elected to that title.

             

And whilst the college itself looks rather Gothic, at times, the interiors were often much more modern. Sometimes it was a bit disappointing, going against my fantastical view of what universities are like, but it's also quite lovely either way how the past blended with the present. And I can't not mention the stunning circular staircase in New Court, which feels golden ratio-esque. The main exception to this blend would be the Fisher Building, a brutalist thorn in the landscape which felt very out of place. Indeed, whenever a new block had to be built, it didn't matter how it would look as a whole. But I digress.

Take one of the libraries, for example. There's a much older library which is no longer regularly used, and instead a sleeker building houses the various books, computers and media. Entering through doors which apparently are at risk of breaking, the inside looks much like a standard local library, except for the bust of a man in the middle. I'm not sure who he is. A small row of books on architecture have reviews besides them, but it gets far more interesting as you go to the back and look at the older texts. They're all part of a collection, kept behind glass, and had been donated to the college many years prior. There's even a small cubicle that's soundproof, so one can study with no distractions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Yet the college itself is also full of nature - one prominent wall on New Court for instance is known for the ivy turning red during the spring, though during the winter it makes the place look somewhat abandoned. Apparently this wall is indirectly why the word "blazer" has come to be (referring to the blazing red of the St John's boating uniforms), though no one knows for sure.

We also passed through the Scholars' Garden which is coming along nicely for spring, never coming close to the Fellow's Garden as that's reserved for...fellows. Nearby is the School of Pythagoras, a stout building with an unclear etymology but which has been there before the college. Once owned by a wealthy family, it passed into Oxford's hands for a while, eventually becoming a boarding school and lecture site along with the adjacent Merton Hall (built in the 1600s). Eventually, we emerged by the Paddocks, which border the Cam. Beyond here is the border between St John's and Trinity, who are seemingly rivals - a bridge connects the two, but we never crossed it. Instead, we made our way back for lunch. 

As an aside, I'll also mention the smaller river that flows through the college grounds which I failed to spot - Bin Brook. The river's more visible around various other gardens, but aside from partially causing major flooding a few years back, it's largely unthought of. It's just one of many streams which surround the college greens in Cambridge, later flowing into the Cam.

I could also mention the taster lecture I had, which was based on statistics which were overall quite confusing. But I think that could be left for another day. 

St John's College itself was quite pleasant, and the people there were very nice as well. One thing I did notice, though, was their insistence on using QR codes; they handed out bookmarks to us, expecting us to scan the code to find more information. Then again, I guess that's just the modern age. I suppose all I need to do now is decide whether I want to study at Cambridge or not...but I'd rather stall on that.

A future blogpost on the town centre will be coming soon on the blog...